How Does He Know
by Psycho Weasel
Summary: Matt thinks Tai is cheating on him because Tai never shows how much he really cares about him. Luckily for Tai, he's got a little sister who makes him think about different ways to show Matt that he means the world to him. Taito/Slash. Slight Takari.


_To: My dear readers..._

_**NOTE:** Happy Valentine's Day everybody! ...or in my case, Happy Single-Awareness Day! :P Lets see...so pretty much, you can blame "Enchanted" and Stephen Schwartz (wrote the music for Enchanted, Pocahontas, Wicked, Prince of Egypt, etc.) for this fanfic idea. For my theater class, we will be doing Stephen Schwartz as a composer review and "That's How You Know" is a group number we will be performing. Hope you guys like it!_

_**WARNINGS:** Surprisingly, this fic is pretty clean and such. Only warning I have to offer is that it has slash (of course)._

_**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Digimon...at all...makes me sad. :'(_

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**HOW DOES HE KNOW**

"I'm home!" Kari called out to the apartment. Tai continued flipping through the television channels, unfazed by the declaration of presence from his sister. He felt too ticked to care much of anything for the moment. Kari walked into the living room with a pink rose in her hand, obviously given to her by her boyfriend, T.K. She smiled sweetly at her older brother who was lounging on the couch. "Hey, Tai. I thought I was the only one here." Tai shrugged and settled on watching a documentary of the sea sponge.

"How was your date?" Tai asked. He was hoping that she would simply say, "Oh great. It was fun." Instead, that had started up a full story of their date. From them going ice skating, having lunch at this cute little café, to them checking out a children's play, yatta, yatta, yatta. Tai would make a few noises of interest, but quite honestly, hearing about how his younger sister was getting along better with her boyfriend better than _he_ was, made him bitter.

"…and then he brought me back here, but not before giving me this rose and kissing me good-bye." Kari let out a happy sigh as she smelled the rose, then looked at her brother. She finally noticed that he hadn't really been listening, which meant something was wrong. "I thought you were going to Matt's house today."

"You thought wrong," Tai grumbled rudely. Kari looked at her older brother curiously. The soccer player looked rather irritable and as though he was about to explode if told the wrong thing.

"Did something happen?" Kari asked, unable to avoid the question. Tai growled and sat up from the couch. He buried his face in his hands and muttered a few things. Kari waited patiently. Finally Tai looked up at her.

"He accused me of cheating on him," Tai replied.

"What?" Kari said, surprised. Tai felt hopeful. _'Finally, someone else who thinks the whole idea is stupid.'_

"Yeah, stupid right? Well, yesterday, I went to his band practice to tell him that we wouldn't be able to do anything this Saturday because I'd be busy. Well, he took it rather well at first, but once I was about to leave, he suddenly said, 'Tai, are you cheating on me?' I was like, 'No! What the heck would even make you think that Matt?' And then he said, 'I dunno, just doesn't seem like I interest you anymore.' Really? If he didn't interest me anymore, I would have dumped him! When I told him that, he freaked out and started shouting at me. So now, we're in this stupid fight."

"Because he accused you of cheating?" Kari said.

"Exactly! I mean, _come on! _I wouldn't even dream of cheating on Matt. I love him too much to do that, and he should know that!" The siblings were quiet for a moment. Tai was pleased that his sister seemed to be taking his side.

"How does he?" she asked.

"Huh?" Tai asked confused.

"How does he know you love him?" Kari asked, as though it were a simple yes or no question. "How does he know he's yours?" Tai looked down at the floor and thought for a moment.

"I've told him lots of times before, so he just…should," Tai responded. The answer felt rather stupid. Kari sighed and sat next to her confused brother.

"Tai, let me tell you something," she said gently. "When you're in a relationship, people like to be reminded how much you care about them."

"Well, I've told him that I love him," Tai protested.

"Some people are different. I mean, there are different languages of love. There are some people who just need verbal recognition to know and feel like they are loved. Others like being physical with others to know they're loved. I feel like I can show love by serving others or they serve me in return. Does that make sense Tai?"

"…you've been reading those teen magazines again, haven't you?"

"Tai I'm serious! If all you've been doing is just saying 'I love you to Matt,' without anything else, I don't blame him for thinking that you're cheating on him." She paused for a moment. "Besides, this Saturday is Valentine's day Tai."

"What?"

"Yes. So if you've had plans to do something that night and you suddenly cancel, don't you think he'd suspect something is up?" Tai stared at his sister for a moment, then buried his face in his hands.

"I must have screwed everything up big time now," Tai groaned miserably. "I shouldn't have told my team that I would be going to that soccer meeting with them this Saturday. Now Matt is going to hate me…" Kari started to rub his back.

"Oh Tai. Hope isn't _all_ lost," Kari comforted. Tai looked up at his younger sister.

"Really? You think Matt might forgive me?" Tai asked hopefully.

"Why would Matt want to pass up a bushy-haired jock like you?" Kari grinned. Tai rolled his eyes and smiled at the comment.

"But…what do I do then? What can I do to prove to him that he means the world to me?" Tai asked. His younger sister thought for a moment.

"How about giving him some yellow flowers and leaving him a little note saying that you're thinking of him? He might be more of a gift receiving person."

"He gets tons of junk from his fan girls and tells me how much he hates it…"

"What about…taking him out to dance? You know, you can hold him real close and then maybe if a cute song comes up you can sing to him and say that that song is especially for him."

"Have you heard me sing Kari? I suck. I don't think he'd appreciate a dying goose with two left feet singing to him."

"Fine…what about…what is Matt's favorite color?"

"Blue. Neon blue."

"Give him something that is that color!"

"Like what? Neon lights?"

"Well…no…ok. How about a picnic while the sun is setting? T.K. did that once, and it was so romantic."

"It also happened to have been summer when he took you out to a picnic. Not February." Kari pulled out her fake grumpy face.

"Tai, you are making this much more difficult than it has to be," she pouted.

"I just suck at romance," Tai sighed as he slumped in his seat. "I have no freaking clue what to do for him…and if I don't do anything soon…I'll lose him…" They sat there for a moment, unsure of what to do or say next.

"Tai," Kari said finally. "You won't lose him. I know you won't. He's probably just a little hurt of the lack of affection you've been giving him recently." Tai slumped down even lower. "You know Matt better than most people. You'll think of something that will prove that he means the world to you." Kari patted Tai on the arm and then stood and made her way to the room. Tai started to panic.

"That's it? You're not going to help me?"

"Think about what I said Tai," Kari called back before closing the door. Tai stared at the closed door for a moment, then sighed as he turned his attention back to the sea sponge documentary.

"…and as you can see here, there is an enormous sponge which is called the 'elephant ear sponge.' Isn't it fantastic?" the woman from the documentary chirped.

"Nobody gives a crap about sea sponges lady!" Tai shouted at the television before clicking it off. He sat there for a moment, sighed and then stood up. Tai had to think of something for Matt and fast.

_**SATURDAY (a.k.a. Valentine's Day)**_

Tai knocked on the door of the Ishida apartment. He looked around nervously and sighed miserably. The only thing he had managed to come up with was to wear his blue shirt that Matt had always liked and to bring him a red rose. He had no clue what he was going to say or do. Fortunately, Matt wasn't answering. Tai sighed as he knelt down and placed the rose next to the door. Suddenly the door swung open, causing Tai to look up.

Matt was looking down at the brunette. Tai smiled as a shade of pink appeared on the other boy's face. His hair was messy and he was still in his pajamas. Tai was witnessing a rare moment: Matt Ishida unprepared for the day.

"Tai?" Matt nearly squeaked. The blonde quickly tried to shut the door, but the brunette caught it before it could close. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you were busy and had to cancel!"

"Change of plans Mattie," Tai smirked as he felt the other boy desperately trying to close the door on him. Tai pushed harder on the door and allowed himself to come into the apartment. Matt blushed even harder and Tai smiled even wider. _'Wow…who knew he could be so adorable?'_

"Tai, get out!" Matt growled. Infatuation quickly left Tai at the angry demand.

"Why should I?" Tai asked.

"I'm in my PJ's! I'm not ready or anything!"

"You look fine Matt."

"I look like a mess! And how would you know? You're always walking out with whatever on!"

"Excuse me?"

"You may not care about what you look like Tai, but some people do!"

"Matt."

"I don't like it how you just come barging in here! Especially since I'm _really _not happy with you right now!"

"Matt!"

"Tai, why do you have to be such a jerk all the time? Why can't you respect me for _once _and just leave right now?" Tai's heart sank at the blonde's angry words. He had come here to try and fix things, but Matt was being such a…_girl!_

"Matt, you're acting like a freaking girl!" Tai shot back.

"A...a _girl? _Did you just call me a girl Tai?" Matt shouted. Tai immediately regretted his words. Matt's fists were clenched tightly and Tai could tell he was getting even more upset. "Well if you think I'm a freaking girl, then fine! I don't ever want to see you again Tai!"

'_Crap! This wasn't supposed to happen!'_

"Honestly, I don't think you really ever cared about how I felt Tai!"

'_Think Tai, think!'_

"You're too focused on yourself!"

'_Shut him up, shut him up!'_

"I mean, what is so hard about showing someone how much you love them?"

Tai quickly grabbed Matt and pressed his lips against the other boy's. Matt froze up for a moment. Tai held Matt's face in his hands and continued to kiss him. Slowly, the other boy started responding. Matt held the soccer player's muscular body close to him and eagerly kissed back. Reluctantly, Tai broke the kiss and started gasping for air. Matt had a faint tint of pink on his cheeks and he looked rather confused. The brunette sighed and rested his forehead against the blonde's forehead.

"It's not hard," Tai whispered. "I just suck at romance. Matt…I'm really, _really _sorry for how I've been treating you. You…you deserve a lot more from me than what I've been giving you. You mean the world to me Matt…and it really upsets me to know that I haven't shown that to you. I don't want to lose you because…I love you Matt. I really do. From the bottom of my heart." Tai kissed Matt's forehead, hoping that his words could have fixed this (even though mere words was the thing that got them into this argument). Suddenly, Tai remembered the "present" he had brought Matt. He motioned Matt to wait a moment, and he quickly went to retrieve the rose. He handed it to the blonde. "I'm really really sorry, Matt." Matt stared down at the rose and then back up at his boyfriend. Then, Matt sighed and wrapped his arms around Tai into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry too," Matt muttered. "I didn't mean anything I said Tai. Honest. I just…feel like I'm losing you and it scares me. So then I start saying things I don't mean."

"You don't have to be the brave little boy anymore, Matt. I'm here…I always will be."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because…I don't want to be without you…_ever._" Matt pulled away slightly to look up at Tai. He smiled and kissed the blonde on the lips. "Want to go ice skating?"

"…I don't know how to," Matt protested slightly.

"I can teach you. It'll be fun." Matt studied the brunette for a moment, then sighed.

"Alright, just give me some time to get ready, ok?" Matt said. Tai smiled and nodded. Matt also smiled and then pulled out of the hug to go get ready.

"Matt?" Tai called out. The blonde turned to look at the other boy. "You…you don't look like a mess…you look perfect." Matt blinked a few times before he smiled at Tai and disappeared into his bedroom. Tai sighed, relieved that everything had worked out well. After a few minutes, Matt came out of his room wearing some jeans, and a plaid red shirt that was unbuttoned and revealed a white t-shirt under it.

"Just to let you know," Matt said warningly as he placed the rose in a vase. "If I break a bone during ice skating, _you_ are the one who's going to have to explain what happened to my fans."

"No problem," Tai smiled. "I'll be sure to include every detail. Like, how you simply stepped on the ice, fell and broke your butt bone."

"Tai!" Tai couldn't help but laugh at the panicked expression that Matt suddenly had. Matt walked over to the brunette and punched him lightly on the arm. Tai smiled and kissed Matt once again on the lips. The blonde singer responded much quickly this time than the first. After what seemed like forever, the two boys broke the kiss. "I hate being mad at you Tai…"

"Me too, Matt," Tai sighed. He offered his arm for Matt to hold. Matt grabbed his jacket and took hold of his boyfriend's arm. "Happy Valentine's day, Matt."

"Happy Valentine's day, Tai." As the two boys exited the apartment, Tai silently thanked Kari's teen magazines for helping him find out that Matt's love language was physicality.

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_...eh...I think I made Matt a little OOC...phail. Anyways...for those of you who have a special someone, let them know how much they mean to you this day! Take them out somewhere, make them a homemade dinner, heck, even simply watching a movie together and cuddling would work! Make sure that they know you care about them. Or else you might get into a sticky situation like Tai and Matt did. ;)_

_Oh...and reviewing this story would be nice too. You know...since I don't have a special someone or anything...*ahem* No flames please!_

_HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!_

_Love, Psycho Weasel._


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